Tessa’s POVI knew my entire face was incredibly red. He had this amused look in his eyes, despite his face being expressionless and I’m not sure how he managed to do that.The last thing I wanted was for Chief Mulligan to know about my one-night stand with Joseph, but here he was… putting it on display.Mulligan looked between the two of us with raised brows, saying nothing as awkwardness sat in the middle of the room. None of us spoke for a short while.I looked down at my feet, hoping that the heat would soon leave my face and it would return to its normal color.“I’m just saying—”“Shut up,” I said quickly, raising my gaze to meet his eyes.He looked at me for a moment longer before shrugging and turning back to Mulligan who stood before us awkwardly trying to avoid all eye contact.“Are you two done?” He muttered. “We need to find out if our theories are true. We have to figure out if it’s actually Tessa’s blood and scent that is drawing in these new vampires and killing those wh
Tessa’s POVIt was an average-looking woman that looked almost human. Except her eyes were very dark and her skin was so pale it looked like it’s never been touched by the sun before in her life. She wore casual clothing, but she was completely barefoot.She was also very thin, and I knew she didn’t eat proper meals.I definitely had never seen her around before, but I certainly wouldn’t be able to tell if she was a vampire or not.Was she what a typical new vampire looked like?I wanted to ask, but Joseph and Mulligan were so engrossed in the video, I don’t think they would pay attention to my question.Not before long, she was joined by a male who appeared to look just as average. He was also pale, and he was built with huge muscles. He didn’t wear a shirt which revealed the collection of tattoos he had on his body.I found myself holding my breath, even though I was nowhere near them.They were both smelling the air like they smelled the most delicious thing in the world and a chil
Tessa’s POV“You want me to live with you?!” I asked, staring up at Joseph with dismay. “We can’t live together. You are my professor.”“It is the best option,” Joseph said, looking between everyone before his eyes landed on me. “That way I can ensure you are safe and not putting anyone else in danger. If you continue to live with a Ruby, there’s a good chance they will break in again. You need to be protected, and also keep her protected.”“But the perfume can help keep my scent away. So, maybe they won’t know that I’m still there…”“The perfume masks the top layer of your scent. The longer you stay there, the more your scent will begin to linger and attract them.”I looked over at everyone else who only shrugged. They agreed with him. Obviously, they didn’t see how this could pose a problem.“Obviously nobody at school can find out about this so we will have to keep this on the down low,” Joseph continued. “I have plenty of rooms in my Villa, so you can take your pick at whichever o
Tessa’s POVJoseph, being the gentleman that he apparently is, carried my belongings from his car and into his villa. He paused once we got inside and turned to me.“Go pick out your room,” he said, looking down at me. “Obviously, you can’t have mine. But any other room is up for grabs.”I wondered how many bedrooms were in this Villa. It was a huge building, but only two stories. During our one-night stand, we started off in the downstairs bathroom next to his study, but gradually made our way upstairs and into his bedroom.I remembered his bedroom was down a long hall and the door was redwood with golden decals. I didn’t ask him what the decals meant at that time because all I cared about was getting inside, but as I stopped in the hallway and looked at his bedroom door, I couldn’t help but inquire about them.“It’s the symbol of the vampire empress,” he explained. “She died many years ago. Not something you should concern yourself with.”I didn’t ask further questions about this em
Joseph’s POVI didn’t like being awake during the daytime, so I was already tired when I arrived at school early this morning. I dressed in a long coat and put dark shades over my eyes in an attempt to shield myself from the sunlight.It didn’t work though. As soon as I was outside, I could already feel the effects of the sun.Tessa had gone to school by herself.I probably should have told her I was going to be giving her rides to school for her own safety. However, hiding from the sun, I found it difficult.This probably wasn’t the best idea.Tessa stared at me with large eyes as I began to tell her that I was going to give her a ride to school, but we were soon interrupted by the sound of angry parents coming from down the hallway.I quickly turned to see a small crowd marching toward us.I recognized one of the parents to be Morgan’s mother. She had bloodshot eyes from when she was crying. I can’t imagine she had stopped crying since finding out her daughter was killed.She also l
Tessa’s POVI hadn’t seen Joseph for the rest of the morning. It’s to be assumed he was probably getting yelled at in the principal's office. A knot had formed in the pit of my stomach thinking about Joseph.I hoped he wasn’t in too much trouble. I hoped that some of our words had gotten through to them, and they didn’t fire him.But what if he did get fired?I didn’t even want to bear the thought of that. I would have to attend that normal writing class and that was not something I wanted to do.I found it difficult to concentrate in class, but I wasn’t the only one. Most students, and even the faculty, were drones of themselves.Morgan was liked by most of her peers and teachers, so the pure thought of her no longer being here didn’t sit right with any of us. All our hearts were heavy, and we didn’t want to do any schoolwork because of it.Thankfully, the teachers understood this and went easy on us for the most part. I even got an email from Joseph earlier this morning canceling th
Tessa’s POV“You look sick again,” Ruby pointed out to once everyone was getting ready to leave the assembly.“I think I just need to get some air,” I said, standing to my feet. “I’ll call you later.”“From the hotel?” She asked, raising her brows. I could tell from her tone that she was questioning if I was really staying in a hotel.“Yes,” I said in return. “From the hotel.”I turned and left quickly, leaving her staring after me.Joseph waited for me in his Bentley just as he told me he would via a text. I looked around to make sure nobody was watching me before I made my way over to his car and disappeared into the passenger seat.However, once I got inside, I noticed he wasn’t in the driver’s seat. He was in the very shaded backseat.“I’ve had enough sun exposure for one day. I’ll need you to drive.”“You want me to drive your car?” I asked. The last car I drove was Brian’s and that felt like a lifetime ago.“You have your license, don’t you?”“Yes, of course,” I said in return,
Tessa’s POVI only got a couple of hours of sleep. I couldn’t stop thinking about Joseph all night. His question stuck in my brain.“What did you see in Brian?”I gave him a short answer, but truth be told, I wasn’t entirely sure myself. I mean Brian was definitely cute, and he had sweet moments, but he’s always been so arrogant and so unlike the guys I’m usually attracted to. But Brian was my first and only everything and I had an attachment to him.I was willing to change everything about myself to be with him. Everything except my passion for writing. That was something he desperately tried to change. But writing kept me sane. I needed it in my life to hold onto a piece of myself that was just my own.He never understood that.Once I finished getting dressed for the day, I made my way downstairs to grab a pop tart from the kitchen when I saw Joseph sitting in the living room. He was watching TV and a smile tugged at my lips at the image of him being so casual yet again.It was the